Comfort
by no cure for crazy
Summary: "We just need time," Macey told him. "It'll be a tough journey, but we've gotten through similar situations before. We can do this as long as we have each other to lean on."


AN: This was actually written based off of two different head canons and loosely on a third one. I just love this head canon blog so much and inspiration strikes when I browse it.

Disclaimer: Again, I own nothing. I'm not Ally Carter. I'm just borrowing her awesome characters for a bit.

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><p><em>279: Macey has her own safe house that reminds her of Joe's cabin that she goes to, sometimes with Preston, when she just needs to get away. <em>

_427: After Macey gets accepted into the secret service, she gets placed with the president's daughter. On a cold night in D.C. someone plans to kill the daughter. Macey ends up taking the bullet – just like Abby did for her. _

_448: After he graduates, Preston joins the military. To this day, Macey still wears the dog tags he gave her. _

Comfort

It was a cool October afternoon. Leaves were changing and falling, a cool breeze was blowing. Autumn had officially settled in and the woman standing on the back porch couldn't be happier. Despite everything that had happened to her recently – autumn was and always had been her favorite season.

Macey leaned against the railing and closed her eyes as the cool wind swept across her face, blowing her hair back. She could feel her muscles slowly relaxing – the tension leaving her body.

The stress of the past few weeks quickly morphed into nothingness – leaving her feeling free, as if she were weightless. It felt nice to not have to constantly look over your shoulder, to be able to let your guard down.

It took a little way for her to let her guard down after the shooting in Washington, but with the help of Preston, she was quickly able to. While he annoyed her most of the time, she was glad that she shared this place with him.

That she brought him with her on numerous occasions.

The cabin wasn't just hers anymore. It was _theirs._

It was just that little fact that filled her with happiness. It made her feel complete. She felt _whole. _

It made the place feel more like a home.

She opened her eyes and looked out over the land. The small lake settled between the cabin and the surrounding woods brought a smile to her face. It reminded her of Joe's cabin that she ran to her junior year during the campaign.

She achieved the same feeling now that she had then.

She ran here for the same reason she had run to his cabin then.

That was exactly why she purchased the cabin and land in the first place.

It was a place to go to if she needed to get away from the stress of everything. A place that she knew she could have to herself. It was a secret hideaway where she could escape responsibilities – even for a little while.

"Hey," a familiar voice said, pulling her from her thoughts.

She felt arms wrap around her waist and she settled her head against her visitor's shoulder.

"Hey," she responded.

"You okay?" Preston asked.

Macey nodded. "I'm fine. I'm just enjoying the serene environment before we have to head back into the city."

Preston chuckled. "Sounds like you're not looking forward to heading back."

"Maybe I'm not," Macey said, turning around to face him and placing her hands on his shoulders.

"We don't have to head back for a while," Preston stated. "Unless you've completely healed and are just pretending to still be coping."

A groan escaped Macey's lips. "What if I was?"

"And I thought you loved your job."

"Of course I do," Macey responded. "But that doesn't mean that I don't love getting away from everything every once in a while."

Preston pressed a quick kiss to her lips.

"You're impossible sometimes," He told her.

"But you still love me for it," Macey responded. "But come on, it does take a while to recuperate after getting shot you know."

There was a moment of silence between the two of him. Preston's eyes darkened for a moment as he stared at him. "Are you sure you're fine."

One of Macey's hands went to caress the side of Preston's face. Her thumb slowly rubbed soothing circles against his cheek. "I'm fine, Preston. And I would tell you if I wasn't."

"I know," he said, eventually. "It's just when I saw the news that a secret service agent was shot – my mind immediately went to the worst case scenario. That only got worse when I got to the hospital and learned that it was you."

Macey thought back to that night. When someone – she still didn't know who, but she was determined to find out – tried to kill the president's daughter.

_The shout was the first thing she heard. The gun pointed at the Samantha was the first thing she saw. She knew what was going to happen and what she had to do. _

_Just like a similar night in Washington D.C. when she was seventeen. _

_Adrenaline filled her body as she lunged forward, throwing herself between the girl and the bullet. _

_The shot rang out through the night and she felt something hard and rounded pierce her skin. _

_She remembered someone screaming. It was a girl's voice – mostly likely Sam. _

_She remembered hitting the concrete with a thud. She remembered the feel of the blood as it left her body. _

_She remembered the pressure as someone pressed against her wound. _

_She remembered nothing else as the world faded to black. _

_The next thing she knew, she was waking up in the hospital with a sharp pain shooting through her chest. _

The feel of Preston tightening his hold around her waist pulled her from her thoughts. She quickly shook the memory of that night away. She was slowly starting to remember more from that night – memories came as flashes or nightmares causing her to jolt awake at night.

She rested her head into the crook of his neck, loving how easily she fit against him. She found comfort in his strong arms and the cool metal of dog tags against her chest – safely tucked between their two bodies.

"Things happen, and I'm fine Preston," Macey reassured him. "Trust me; I'm not going anywhere anytime soon."

"Even with everything we've been through and how we've still come out of it," Preston said. "That fear is still there."

"It always will be," Macey said, truthfully. "You'll just learn how to deal with it."

"That's easy for you to say," Preston told her. "Isn't that how you were trained at Gallagher?"

Macey titled her head as she stared into his eyes. "The army didn't teach you that?"

"When it comes to you, I don't think I'll ever be able to deal with it."

"Are you growing soft on me now?" Macey teased.

Preston smiled. "It's good to see you're on your way back to your old self."

"A gunshot wound can't keep me down long," Macey stated.

Preston kissed the top of her head.

While it was true that she was slowly becoming more like her old self again, there was a small part of her that wondered if things would ever be the same again. She wondered if she would ever _truly_ feel the same again.

Maybe she would. Maybe she wouldn't.

She would just have to wait and see where things went.

"Time."

"What?"

Macey looked up at him. She hadn't realized she'd spoken the word allowed until Preston had questioned her.

"We just need time," Macey told him. "It'll be a tough journey, but we've gotten through similar situations before. We can do this as long as we have each other to lean on."

"Together?"

Macey smiled.

"Together."


End file.
